And we’re back! Greetings to all of you lovely ChipWINners, I hope that you’ve been having a wonderful holiday season. As many of you are probably aware, Christmas came early for us this month with the release of ‘HEART ON WAVE’ via ZOOM LENS. This was a highly anticipated follow-up release from Slime Girls since their instant classic debut EP ‘Vacation Wasteland’ way back in 2012. While ‘HEART ON WAVE’ is technically a single, a B-side, and 5 excellent remixes from renowned chip musicians, new Slime Girls is always a reason to celebrate. And with a collection of tracks as strong as this, I couldn’t let 2014 come to a close without highlighting it here on the ChipWIN blog.

It has been a while my friends, but I am pleased to bring you another installment in this series! Again, what I am looking for here are chip musicians that I think make quality songs, and could use more love for their work. So, without further delay, let’s get straight into our first pick :).

MooseSMW

It’s funny how some people in the chip community seem to almost balk at the idea of someone saying their music ‘sounds like Mario’ but if you really think about it, that’s quite the complement. We all know how popular his games are, and nobody denies the brilliant songs scattered throughout the series of games. So is it any wonder then that someone who uses it as inspiration to remix those tunes as well as compose original work would be a joy to listen to?

The first song that I heard from MooseSMW was rather neat. He had taken the main theme of Super Mario Land and arranged it with Super Mario World instruments. So what you get is a double dose of nostalgia that is both unique and familiar at the same time. Take a deeper look into his music and you’ll see that he has contributed to the fantastic SPC Echoes album which can be found here!

His is a classic style of video game music composition that is often overlooked in favor of other styles of chip composition. Do yourself a favor and stop by this man’s soundcloud page. You’ll be glad you did, I sure was!

5ALAZAR

Here we have a man who uses Deflemask, a multi-chip tracker to make Sega Genesis hip hop beats. The song choices he arranges are interesting because he takes lesser-known but wonderfully catchy video game melodies and transforms them by adding extremely crisp sounding drums underneath. He’s rather new to soundcloud and only has a few songs so far but all of them are solid and remind me a little of what you might hear from people such as Dj CUTMAN or Urban Flow. Except this guy is doing it all in a tracker designed to play back on a Sega Genesis. This means that he’s taking many of these tunes and not only arranging them in a new style, but remaking them to fit Sega Genesis limitations! In my opinion, he has far too few followers considering the high quality of his work. I highly recommend that you check him out and encourage him to upload more!

CosmoBG

Finally, we have someone that I’ve been wanting to feature for a long time. Most likely, if you have taken the time to check out my own soundcloud page you’ll see that he’s in many of my Sega Genesis collaboration tracks and I am often re-posting his work. Not only is he an accomplished Sega Genesis musician, he’s also been known to tackle famitracker and make expert use of mod plug tracker to create more modern style tracks and even mimic the Capcom Arcade Soundboard CSP2 chipset which was popular in many mid to late 90’s Capcom fighters. Really, he has many interests ranging from pixel art to story writing along with his obvious talent for music. Basically, if you like my music you really should follow him as well because we influence each other constantly and you’ll find not only another great musician to enjoy, but someone who I find extremely easy to work with which means he is adaptable to just about any style. So yeah, what are you waiting for? Follow this man, I wouldn’t be the musician I am today without having the pleasure of collaborating with him :). If that doesn’t sell him to you, I don’t know what will. Here’s his soundcloud!

In Conclusion

The most important reason I am featuring these guys is because to me they are all indeed hidden gems! Some are newer to the chip scene while others have been at it for a much longer period of time. It is my sincere hope that at least one of them is new to you. Honestly, one of them was new to me until recently thanks to the recommendation of a friend :).

I am always on the lookout to find new musicians. So if you see me around and want to share an artist with me, feel free! That’s what it’s all about :). Who knows. maybe you’ll see them appear the next time I decide to tackle this topic!

Remember to never stop composing and promote your fellow artists. Perhaps one of you is a diamond in the rough just waiting to emerge as a hidden gem!

Sup y’all? =) President Hoodie here, ready to happily introduce this multi-writer full review of our newly released chipWINter Wonderland compilation! Kicking off this collaborative writing project is none other than Mr. Viridian Forge! Do it to it, Wayne!

Infused with the magic of fresh snowfall, Aethernaut’s ‘Snowball Fight Tonight’ is undeniably the correct choice to have opening this year’s ChipWINter compilation. Warm toned arps, rising riffs, and a steady beat merge together to give the piece a backdrop that belongs on a Christmas card. The authenticity comes from the vocal samples that appear throughout the track, which truly convey the feeling that you’re in the midst of an old fashioned impromptu neighborhood snowball melee.

Building on the childhood reveries Aethernaut may have left the listener with, ‘Tinsel Time’s twinkling opening hearkens, perhaps, to warm evenings decorating the old tannenbaum with loved ones. About thirty seconds in, powerful chip-based shredding slaps the sense back into them, tearing apart any preconceptions about what’s going on here. tiasu moves between these two themes skillfully, illustrating both the reverence and exuberance that imbue the spirit of the season.

Switching up the tempo and tone of the compilation, Polar Sunrise has the feel of a more ‘traditional’ holiday piece. Appropriately, the richness of the music, authenticity of the bells and reflective pacing encourage taking the time to appreciate the chance to reflect on the events of the year. Moreover, the warmth of the composition really brings home the spirit of spending time with loved ones during this time of the year.

With Cool Winds, the fluctuations in how the spirit of winter is evoked continue. Subdued compared to the previous tracks, Joshua Morse’s submission to the compilation is meditative, and space-y. With a sound palette consisting of fat sweeps, twinkling plucks, liquid droplets, and remote sleigh bells, Mr. Morse has put together an honestly evocative track. To my ear, this is the perfect soundtrack to gazing quietly out onto a frozen lake from snow covered hills, as a gentle breeze pulls snowflakes across the starry twilight.

“Borealis Place” starts off as a smooth jazz piece accompanied by round bells and pulse leads before nearly manically-transitioning into a very bright and driven trance vibe. While the latter is the concept the song eventually focuses on, Toni Leys demonstrates a clear and exemplary knowledge and execution of not only both concepts but maintaining a tasteful amount of drama both between transitions and on the beginning and end of the song.

To break a personal rule of mine, I would genuinely compare this track to what sounds like: an experiment between fusing together the soulful and jazzy vibes of the Breath of Fire III soundtrack and (apparently a “controversial” opinion time) what the “NiGHTS Into Dreams…” OST should have sounded like.

As much as “Borealis Palace” rhymes brings on a strong smooth vibe, anyone familiar with Yoann Turpin’s music knows to prepare themselves for a soul-villed journey through a grove-filled jazz track that’s bound to make you feel good from the inside-out. “Bit’s Carol Groove” is no exception! Every chorus is impressively written, the melody from the top of the head onward is not only memorable but varies enough to where every embellishment of a note and their following solos stand out and give life to every note it plays. From legends such as Dubmood, demoscene veteran and amazingly-cool-person Ultrasyd, all the way to newcomers Please Lose Battle, France has had a variety of incredibly talented artists in the chip scene (and let’s face it, a ton of other music scenes.) That said, I’m incredibly delighted to see Metz’s Yoann Turpin finally contribute a solo track to a ChipWIN project.

Coming in from a completely different, yet equally masterfully crafted perspective, Kartmaze is a stellar example of 80’s synth aesthetic and chipmusic blending together to create an incredibly grand soundscape full of pads, reverb and melodic harmony. “Cyberia” is very much a track that has a heavier march pattern to its rhythm to give a sense of urgency to its accompanying chord progression, tasteful use of arpeggio accompaniment and a haunting but clear melody that sticks with you. Half-way through the song we get to some pizzicato solo elements with the rest of the track resting for the better part of a measure and a half. It was a very clever way to disguise the fact that Kartmaze included a change in both the rhythm and time signature, making what seemed to be a great conceptual reference to “Carol of the Bells.”

Of course, with me making reference to Pieces of Eight’s fantastic drum solo on Volume 3, it only fits perfectly that the last track I get to review is one made by the artist from North Carolina that I’ve had the honor of collaborating with on the “Merry Chipmas” compilation curated by MicroCollective (‘lo Sam!)

What we have here, of course, is a cover of “Ave Maria.” While normally I’m the type to shrug most covers, Pieces of Eight has solidly demonstrated in previous covers that he can take a song and accentuate it to bring a larger, more dramatic tone, resulting in some sincerely show-stopping pieces. This is no exception to that rule. Along with covering the track’s melody, bassline, and key, Adam mixed in Enya-esque backing vocals from Azuria Sky, which mix well with the barrage of what sounds like double-single-channel echo and reverb on arpeggios going over the entire scale of each section’s key.

I think, somewhere buried deep down inside all of us, is a tune or a sound font that we associate with a place or a person. The same thing goes with winter, and that’s exactly what Jredd’s ‘Snow Day’ gives us. This track sounds near identical to what I would have expected to hear in a 90’s anime for a snow day episode – if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought this track was lifted right out of Sailor Moon. It’s upbeat, it’s happy, it’s bouncy, but it’s not too saccharine as to make you roll your eyes. It is, the musical quantification of how you might feel on a snow day, walking around town, bubbling inside because you know you get to skip that test you had today. Leave the responsibilities to the adults – jam out to ‘Snow Day’ on your snow day!

When I saw the name of this track, ‘Fun With Fractional Freezing,’ I had to look up what that meant. I knew I had heard it before. Turns out, that’s the process you use to make one of my favorite liquors, applejack – it’s used to separate out water in liquor like distillation but so, so much simpler. And it struck me, that name is actually quite appropriate. Fractional freezing, like this song, is a very relaxed process: it’s slow, it’s calm, it’s simple. Also like its namesake, you know you’re getting something done while you’re doing it and this song continuously builds: it slowly getting louder and more complex. And, like any liquory treat, you end up with an end result you really like. This song is exactly that: smooth and chill with new elements appearing until the end result is something you know you’ll enjoy going back to.

I have a firm belief that any track willing to open up with a “WOO” is either going to be amazing or horrible. The good news is, ‘I’m Better Than You’ turns out to be in that first category by a wide margin. You’ve got the super tight percussion Reckahdam is known for thrown in with beats that would seem at home in a Bare Knuckle Streets of Rage game. At the risk of sounding entirely too cheesy, this track puts the “win” in winter – while you have the high, sustained notes and the twinkly sounds from time to time, this track is all about getting down and rocking out. If ‘Snow Day’ was a group of kids walking down the road on a day off, ‘I’m Better Than You’ is the soundtrack to the inevitable snowball fight. The track wraps up with the familiar “gleamy” noise from the Sega – and I can just imagine Roger finishing banging out the final drum solo and then flashing a thumbs up and a smile while it happens.

After such an intense track, you probably need something calm to…cool down with, right? Riiiiight? Good, because ‘Cold’ is exactly what you need. This track is 89% ambiance and mood building – it’s a tune out and chill kind of track (no pun intended…this time). This song is the auditory equivalent of soaking in a Jacuzzi with the jets on low – soothing, with just a little bit going on to keep you from completely detaching from reality. Although I wouldn’t call this song trance, it will definitely put you in a trance. Just don’t listen to this song in an actual snowstorm, because none of us here at ChipWIN want you to space out while listening to the album and get hypothermia and become popsicles. Chiptune responsibly, people.

‘Guard Duty on Station Arctemp 323e’ is an assault on your senses. Harnessing a winter storm as a foundation, ‘Guard Duty on Station Arctemp 323e’ by Russellian shifts and changes in and out of melodies and speeds, delivering a sense of loss and bewilderment, much like one could feel on patrol in an isolated arctic complex. Russellian succeeds in creating a fluid, disconcerting attack on your perceptions and expectations, delivering an intense stream-of-consciousness with ‘Guard Duty on Station Arctemp 323e’.

Delightful, minimalistic, hopeful. ‘Snowflakes Are Falling Stars’ by Matthew Squibb does a lot with very little. ‘Snowflakes Are Falling Stars’ employs what sounds like fewer than 6 channels, capitalizing on the freedom that comes with such a limitation and disregarding the urge to shoehorn unnecessary bells and whistles, resulting in a thoughtful and purposeful little chiptune-track-that-could.

Over a continuous chorus hum, Square Therapy delivers a beautiful rendition of Silent Night with ‘A Very Squarey Xmas’ that takes its time, and builds with true feeling, ultimately abandoning the serene choral sounds for a rockin’ rendition of Gloria in Excelsis Deo to bring the house down. High octane; ‘A Very Squarey Xmas’ by Square Therapy is the holiday jam you didn’t know you needed, and will no longer live without.

‘Fireplace’ by subPixel takes swing-chip to funky places to close out the album, leaning into slides and transitions with such organic timing that you could confuse it for a live set. subPixel takes an entertaining tangent away from the established melody to experiment with unexpected swinging synth alternatives and the welcome jingle jangle of bells that synch the holiday cheer together with ‘Fireplace’s funky swing in a nice chiptune bow.

Sup y’all? =) It’s President Hoodie here again with yet another edition of my Hoodie Highlights interview column! Today’s an extra special version (to me at least), as I’m interviewing both one of my favorite people and closest friends in this crazy amalgamate of different, yet related scenes. In all honesty, he’s pretty much the primary reason I’m involved in any/all of this delightful insanity(thank or/and curse him appropriately). Everyone welcome to the pages of The ChipWIN Blog, Mr. Grant Henry aka Stemage!

Stemage: WHAT: I’m Stemage – a yo-yo enthusiast that dabbles in music production, arranging, and songwriting.
HOW: Coffee and beer – one usually followed by the other.
WHY: I HAVE NO IDEA HELP ME.
WHERE: I live on the west coast, but my music lives mostly on the internet. So, EVERYWHERE.
WHO: I go by Grant Henry in real life. I want to be a chip musician when I grow up, but I only know how to play guitar and drums. That doesn’t help my cause. Or, I’m lazy and new instruments scare me.

Howzat?

Hoodie: hahahah Perfect.

And welp, guess that wraps things up! Great interview btw. See you next time!

Stemage: THANKS HOODIE! Always a pleasure!

That would actually be hilarious (to end the interview now). But not so informative

Hoodie: Start a new interviewing fad. I LIKE IT. Makes my column a helluva lot quicker to prep too. (y)

Maybe next time, though. People might actually care to read what you have to say. ;)

Speaking of that, music, video games, Metroids, MAGFest, wut? How in the spaghetti-os did you get involved in all of these crazy worlds and/or become a wizard at music/audio engineering/beer?

Stemage: Well, you start arranging metal Metroid music on a Tascam 8-track.

Humble beginnings.

Then all these conventions start happening, and I meet so many musicians that are better than me at everything. As a bonus, it turns out they are all nice people. Then you get inspired and push yourself. Then you start collaborating, and things will spin out of control.

Years later, I’m still writing, arranging, and offering my services (yo-yo if required) to people and their projects.

I’m still working on the whole “stop time” thing, so I can finish all the pet projects that are in my head.

Can I admit that none of what you said sounds crazy anymore? It all sounds absolutely, perfectly reasonable. haha Kinda, sorta everyone/everything within all of this is inspirational.

Stemage: The years and events are all sort of jumbled in my head, but here we are. Ya know?

Hoodie: Yeah, I do (I think?). o.O

Any particular highlights worth sharing/reminiscing here? And I realize this question is terribly unfair, because there’ve been a lot, lot, LOT of them at this point. haha

…seriously, I ask this thinking that it’s WAY more fair than a quick timeline request, but on second thought it may be even harder. Sorries. :3

Stemage: – Playing Metroid Metal with Chunkstyle at MAGFest for the first time (never thought that would happen)
– Writing a soundtrack for a video game (never thought that would happen)
– Feeling confident enough to arrange the entire TRON soundtrack by ear (never thought that would happen)
– Writing a song with Manami Matsumae, the composer of Mega Man (never thought that would happen)
– Mastering a chiptune album containing some of my favorite songwriters (never thought that would happen)
– Never thought that would happen (never thought that would happen)

What happened?

Hoodie: I dunno. Never thought about it.

Metroid: “OMNOMNOM” Grant: “Wuh happun?”

Hoodie: Obviously, you’re still going strong & there’s more highlights to come.
New IRL location, but as busy as ever from what I hear. Even mastering chiptunes nowadays. WTF!?

Stemage: WTFN? (why the fuck not)

I LOVE CHIPTUNES. I’m not in a place to learn a new instrument, so mastering some makes me feel like a part of the scene. It’s in innest of the in crowds. Ya dig?

Hoodie: I DIG. And WTFN is a good a reason as any in my book!

Had a feeling the Solarbear gig would open doors for you there (& what a way to open it; HELLUVA ALBUM!!). Just made all the sense.

Stemage: Everything I’m working on is classified CIA KGB shit, but I don’t have a problem being fired. I’ve actually been doing lots of contributions recently. I just recently moved into a new place, so the full studio is still being set up. But I’m playing guitar all over Keiji Yamagishi’s new album (Ninja Gaiden composer) as well as some guitar projects for Cartoon Network. I’ve also got some original music in the works as well as other collabs, oddities and arrangements. I’m also curating a new album – something I’ve always wanted to do! That is finally getting started.

I also just finished restoring a cocktail pinball machine from ’89, and I’ll be dammed if those late 80s pinball sound chips aren’t the best damn thing. They sound like variations of the FM chip. PINBALL HAS CHIPTUNES TOO YA KNOW.

I really need to quit playing The Crew and get my new website up. Dammit. I feel like “life” is a WIP at this point.

Hoodie: But life is a WIP, right? I mean, nobody really wants it to be finished, yanno? Or perfected. That’d be boring & stuff.

BOOM. DEEP PHILOSOPHICAL SHIT RIGHT OUTTA NOWHERE.

Stemage: BRANDON WHY YOU GOTTA GIVE ME A HEADACHE

Hoodie: Now you sound like Erin. :*(

…and now I’m in trouble. O.O

Nah. She never reads this stuff anyways. haha
(damn, I think I pulled this gag last time; I need to get new material.. :/ ).

Stemage: Would you excuse me for a moment? I have to go reach enlightenment.

Hoodie: REACH FOR IT.

Stemage: I also just bought an acoustic guitar, so maybe I’ll do a Hootie cover album. *spoilers*

Hoodie: No. Sixpence None the Richer. Obviously.

Stemage: HAHA! Three ‘C’ chords you better believe it. Who knew?

Hoodie: That’s all it takes to Kisssssss Meeeeeeeeeee~
I always really liked the harmonica in that song.
…that song had harmonica, right?

Stemage: I think you’re thinking of the Rosanne theme song. Talk about PROG!

Hoodie: Something relevant to the blog before we wrap this up (I guess that’s important, right?):

What did you think about working on the chipWINter Wonderland project? Was it fun to master? Are chiptunes fun for you to master, and/or something you can see yourself doing more of?

Stemage: It was SO much fun to master. There’s a wintery theme across all songs, but it’s a pretty wide collection of chip subgenres. Some of my favorite people are on this thing.

I love to contribute to the scene in any way possible.

Hoodie: Well, you did a stellar damn job, that’s for sure. Unsurprisingly, of course. You good-at-doing-things jerk, you.

Stemage: Thanks Pres Hoodie!

Hoodie: You’re welcome, Cowpie Henry.

Stemage: YEEHAW!

Hoodie: So when’s that taking off anyways? I want my country music millions. And cheap lager sponsorship. I want the beer sponsorship mostly. That’s how I’ll let everyone back home know I made it. It’s how it works in the South.

Or you make it in Nascar.

Stemage: I bought an acoustic guitar didn’t I? Working on it.

Hoodie: Right. Good man.

Aside from imminent country music stardom, any parting thoughts before we wrap this chit chat up?

Stemage: I just can’t wait for everyone to hear the album. It’s definitely one of the strongest ChipWIN releases. I’m proud to be a small part of it – even though there isn’t a lick of country twang therein.

Hoodie: Happy to hear you say that, man. I feel the same way. It really turned out quite magical, even moreso than I expected (as usual haha). And I’m really happy that you were a part of that, even if there’s no yeehaw in it. Maybe next time.

Can you hear those sleigh bells a jingling ChipWINners? Perhaps a ring-ting-tingling too? For those of us in the northern hemisphere, winter has begun to make its full force known.

Yup. All that Winter.

As fond as I am of a seasonal excuse to curl up inside with good video games, ancestral quilts, and a hot cup of coffee, the charm of ice and snow wears off quickly. As such, when King Keytan’s latest release dropped into my lap in late November, the idea of ‘Summer Forever‘ was a serious temptation.